Other books that might interest you

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  Oliver Winchester: The Life and...

  Charles River Editors

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  By the time weapons industrialist Oliver Winchester was born, the Lewis and Clark Expedition sent to the Pacific by Thomas Jefferson had only recently returned with their report on the first overland continental journey. Outside of a small group of mountain men trapping and trading fur for European fashion magnates, few white settlers had found their way across the Great Plains. The firearms of the Revolution demonstrated little difference between a soldier’s flintlock musket and a hunting weapon taken from the mantle.  
  	Gunsmiths in early 19th century America were helped along by noted artisans from Germany, Switzerland, and other European powers, but despite advances made in the European and American musket, the requirement of an exterior spark and percussion to ignite powder for a single-shot discharge remained the paradigm. Similarly, the era was unable to move past the cumbersome weapon that required at least half a minute to reload. The military compensation for such an ungainly and vulnerable process was the alternation of troop lines, in which one fired while the other reloaded from behind. Effective as that was in laying down constant fire and simultaneous reloading, the force as a whole was disabled by a large fraction, and the reloading soldiers were vulnerable to saber attacks on horseback as well. 
  	In the manner that Samuel Colt broke open the single-shot tradition in hand weapons, Oliver Fisher Winchester and his celebrated rifle shared the title of “the gun that won the West.” In the arena of portable arms, these two men dominated much of the technological and promotive aspects of 19th century weaponry, alternating between resisting and collaborating with rivals. While Colt created the first effective revolver mechanism for the handgun based on the technology of the ship’s wheel, it was Oliver Winchester who instituted 140 years of branding dominance by virtue of the first reliable repeating rifle.

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  Bring Your Eyes and See - Our...

  Steve Goode, Marie Goode

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  Many people had warned us and said it was too dangerous to enter Afghanistan, but we knew that if we would not go into a country where we were recruiting people to serve, we had no right to recruit them.Steve Goode and Marie Bentley, high-school sweethearts from Tennessee, couldn't have imagined all they would see through multiple decades of service to the poor and oppressed. Never shying away from God's call, they have served in refugee camps and war zones and lived through personal illnesses and struggles. As long-term leaders of Youth With A Mission's mercy ministries and efforts against human trafficking in Southeast Asia and beyond, Steve and Marie have brought healing and hope to thousands of people and continue to inspire others to do the same.

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  De-Bug - Voices from the...

  Raj Jayadev, Jean Melesaine

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  Stories of the dot-com boom—from everyone but the techies. “A raw look into the lives of residents bearing the brunt of gentrification.” —HuffPost No shuttle buses here: De-Bug, a new collection of true stories from the social justice organization of the same name, shows a side of working in Silicon Valley that you won’t read about in the business section. As tech moguls land the cover of Forbes, the South Bay’s working class is making ends meet as metal scrappers, factory workers, club bouncers, hairstylists, rickshaw drivers, ice cream cart pushers. The stories in De-Bug are poignant, often very funny accounts of bootstrapping in the land of angel investors and thought leaders. A construction worker predicts which of his customers are about to strike it rich and which are on the edge of bankruptcy based on the states of their swimming pools. A “secondhand hustler” travels the garage sale-flea market circuit in search of treasures to resell online. A temp worker at a medical device manufacturer sells his blood, at the company’s request, to test the equipment. These storytellers are frank when discussing their own flaws, but are equally up-front about the rigged system in which they operate. Disruptive in the truest sense of the word, De-Bug offers valuable insight into California’s latest boomtown.“Silicon Valley’s less-noticed denizens show an unexpected knack for grace, wit, and survival.” —Kentaro Toyama, author of Geek Heresy“If you truly want to know Silicon Valley, in all of its complexity, then De-Bug is a must-read.” —Tomás Jiménez, associate professor of sociology, Stanford University

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  Fat Girl Walking - Sex Food Love...

  Brittany Gibbons

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  Told through a series of larger-than-life snapshots, a hilarious memoir in essays about love, sex, marriage, motherhood, bikinis, and loving your body, no matter what size you are from the acclaimed blogger and body image advocate. 
  Brittany Gibbons has been a plus size her whole life. But instead of hiding herself in the shadows of thinner women, Brittany became a wildly popular blogger and national spokesmodel—known for stripping on stage at TedX and standing in Times Square in a bikini on national television, and making skinny people everywhere uncomfortable. 
  Talking honestly about size and body image on her popular blog, brittanyherself.com, she has ignited a national conversation. Now in her first book, she shares hilarious and painfully true stories about her life as a weird overweight girl growing up in rural Ohio, struggling with dating and relationships, giving the middle finger to dieting, finding love with a man smaller than her, accidentally having three kids, and figuring out the secret to loving her curves and becoming a nationally recognized body image advocate. And there’s sex, lots of it! 
  Fat Girl Walking isn’t a diet book. It isn’t one of those former fat people memoirs about how someone battled, and won, in the fight against fat. Brittany doesn’t lose all the weight and reveal the happy, skinny girl that’s been hiding inside her. Instead, she reminds us that being chubby doesn’t mean you’ll end up alone, unhappy, or the subject of a cable medical show. What’s important is learning to love your shape. With her infectious humor and soul-baring honesty, Fat Girl Walking reveals a life full of the same heartbreak, joy, oddity, awkwardness, and wonder as anyone else’s. Just with better snacks.

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  The Popes - Every Question Answered

  Rupert Mathews

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  This comprehensive historical reference covers the Apostolic Succession from St. Peter to Pope Francis, plus a selection of Papal Bulls and teachings.The papacy is a unique religious office. Lasting two millennia, it is one of the oldest and most enduring institutions in the world. The line of authority linking the current pope to the ministry of Jesus Christ has continued unbroken over the centuries.The Popes: Every Question Answered presents pertinent facts and fascinating details about all 266 popes, from St. Peter to Pope Francis I. Covering controversies, triumphs, and reforms from the Late Roman Period to the twenty-first century, this is an indispensable reference guide for theological students and people of all faiths.</

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  SCOTUS weighs religion...

  PBS NewsHour

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  One of the Supreme Court's biggest cases this term probes whether the religious beliefs of a Colorado baker override the rights of a couple who were refused a wedding cake because they are gay. Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal joins John Yang to go over the court arguments and how the justices responded.

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